The fourth U.S. Army soldier assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division was found deceased near Pabradė, Lithuania the afternoon of April 1.
The soldier’s identity is being withheld pending confirmation of notification of next of kin.
"First and foremost, we offer condolences to the loved ones of our Soldiers,” said Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “I can't say enough about the support our Lithuanian Allies have provided us. We have leaned on them, and they, alongside our Polish and Estonian Allies - and our own sailors, airmen and experts from the Corps of Engineers - have enabled us to find and bring home our soldiers. This is a tragic event, but it reinforces what it means to have Allies and friends.”
In the early morning hours of March 25, the four soldiers went missing. The first three Soldiers and their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle were recovered from a peat bog in the early morning of March 31.
"This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd ID commanding general. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.”
The soldier was found after a search by hundreds of rescue workers from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Polish Armed Forces, Estonian Armed Forces, and many other elements of the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies.
“We are incredibly relieved that we were able to bring this recovery to an end and bring closure to all the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division and who grew up on Fort Stewart. “We cannot thank our Allies and fellow service members enough, especially the Lithuanians, who spared no resource in support of this mission. Together, we delivered on our promise to never leave a fallen comrade.”
Throughout the seven-day recovery effort, the combined and joint team worked day and night to find the soldiers.
“As the fourth and final soldier has been recovered from this tragic accident, we will continue to mourn their loss as we work to quickly return our Dog Face Soldiers home to their families,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps and former Fort Stewart and 3rd ID commanding general. “It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers. Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. We are forever grateful.”
The soldier was deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve to provide credible ground deterrence alongside Allies and partners, and was permanently stationed at Fort Stewart.
“I'm immensely proud of our entire team, they have been relentless in their efforts to search and recover our soldiers and get every capability and asset necessary to enable this effort,” said Gen. Donahue.
The U.S. Army is investigating the cause of the accident. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
"We continue to stand by the families and loved ones through this incredibly difficult time,” said Maj. Gen. Norrie. “Now, it’s time to bring them home.”
